401(k)

Is she safe to hire?Companies with 500 employees or more can expect to be sued for discrimination at least once a year, and the cost to defend the accusation can cost as much as $15,000, even if the allegation is found to be without merit. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA-91) held great promise for protecting workers from discrimination in the workplace, but the potential cost of litigation makes some firms wary of hiring minorities. A business professor at Washington University in St. Louis has come up with a plan to circumvent potential lawsuits in a way that benefits both employers and employees.

President George W. Bush’s recent push for the establishment of an ownership society features partial privatization of Social Security by diverting a portion of the payroll tax into individual accounts. “Privatizing Social Security is a dangerous idea,” says Merton Bernstein, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security. “Despite widespread criticism and misunderstanding, Social Security is in good shape for the future and its funding can be made solid by modest measures. In contrast, privatization would cost $3.75 trillion.”